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Let's Get Out There: Family fun at Sauvie Island farms

Halloween weekend means one last chance to grab a pumpkin, as many farms with pumpkin patches and fall festivals will go dormant until next year after Oct. 31.

PORTLAND, Ore. — In this week's Let's Get Out There, KGW headed to Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island. It’s not necessarily a nature trail or forested area, but Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island is a great place for people to be outside.

“We feel pretty lucky every day,” said Kat Topaz.

Topaz owns the farm with her husband Jim Abeles. Farming isn’t in their family, but they have a passion for sharing the land with others.

“Everybody on the island has been so kind to us,” said Kat. “The farmers have been so kind, they've been so supportive, that we want to do our part you know in keeping the farm really nice and a nice escape for folks.”

“We are passionate about this, and we love having people come to our home and experience a little bit of farm life,” Abeles added.

Credit: Topaz Farm

The end of October usually means fall festivals and pumpkin patches go dormant until next year. This weekend will be the last one of the season at Topaz Farm, where they’ll close until Mother’s Day.

RELATED: Halloween events around Portland

“If there's anybody left that has not found their perfect pumpkin yet, we got their pumpkin for that,” Topaz smiled. In fact, they have 18 barely-touched acres of huge pumpkins that Topaz credits to their commitment to an organic method, while Abeles suggests beginners’ luck.

Aside from the pumpkins, they host live music, farm-to-table dinners and a huge 8-acre corn maze.

“This year's corn maze was extra special for us because we got to work with a bunch of local artists…and so Aaron Draplin came in and designed the overall look of the maze, and then a whole bunch of local artists designed art that you can find inside the maze,” Kat said.

Credit: Topaz Farm
Topaz Farm's 2021 corn maze, designed by Aaron Draplin

There are seven pieces in all sprinkled throughout the maze. You can expect to spend about an hour winding your way through, and there’s also a smaller version for kids. Kat said before you head out to Sauvie Island, make sure you dress accordingly.

“I'll warn you though, this is the last weekend of a very, very rainy month. So if you're gonna go search for them [the artwork], it is muddy,” said Kat.

“If you're worried about your sneakers getting dirty,” said Jim. “This is not the one for you. But yeah, if you’ve got the right attitude in the right gear, it's still a lot of fun.”

It may not be the typical “Let’s Get Out There,” but a short distance from the city allows you to explore and escape into some farm life Kat and Jim are happy to share.

“We're lucky that we have a home where we can open it up to the public and they can come on enjoy,” said Jim.

Let's Get Out there airs once a week on KGW's 4 p.m. newscast and The Good Stuff, which airs Monday-Thursday at 7 p.m. We're including viewer photos for this series. You can text your photos to 503-226-5088 or post them on the KGW Facebook page.

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Watch more Let's Get Out There stories here

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